MLC student Nathan Sadowsky, 15, to leave high school for college

View full sizeCourtesy of Nathan SadowskyNathan Sadowsky, 15, is a student at Metropolitan Learning Center in Northwest Portland. In August, he will drop out of high school to attend Bard College at Simonâs Rock in Massachusetts. Â

Nathan Sadowsky can’t drive a car or vote, but this fall, the 15-year-old will be a college freshman.

The current Metropolitan Learning Center sophomore was recently accepted into Bard College at Simon’s Rock, a school for high-achieving high school students who learn quicker than most of their peers. In August, Sadowsky will drop out of high school and move across the country to attend the Massachusetts college.

Sadowsky said he won’t miss much about high school life. He’s already been to prom twice, and most of his friends are seniors.

“A lot of my friends are going off to college themselves,” he said, “so it feels like I’m joining them in a way.”

Once at the school, Sadowsky will choose a concentration to study. After two years, he’ll have an associate’s degree, and after four, a bachelor’s. He plans to look into graduate school after that.

His son’s acceptance into college as a teenager isn’t surprising to Rob Sadowsky. He first realized his son was exceptionally intelligent when he scored high in aptitude tests at age 5.

When the family moved to Portland from Chicago two years ago, Nathan began attending MLC. Since then, he’s asked his teachers to challenge him with additional work, and after this school year he will have completed all of the science and math classes offered at the Northwest Portland school.

“When he ran into Bard at a college fair, he brought home a brochure and said, ‘I really want to go here,’¤” Rob Sadowsky said. “I slowly warmed up to it. It just became clearer and clearer that he was ready.”

Nathan and his parents also considered him studying for a year in Israel, where they have family. In the past year, the teen spent time learning Hebrew, and his parents got used to the idea that he would be away from Portland next year no matter what.

“We knew there was going to be a change next year anyway,” his dad said, adding that it’s not easy to let his youngest son leave the house. “You kind of get used to it. He’s not a baby anymore.”

But Bard staff accepted the teen, and the decision was a “no-brainer,” said Steve Coleman, director of admissions at the college.

“We’re really excited about Nathan coming. He’s going to be a real star here,” Coleman said. “He’s a fantastic student. He’s super smart, he’s got a 4.0 GPA, two of his teacher recommenders said he is the ‘most intellectual child I have ever taught in my career.’”

Bard College at Simon’s Rock is a small school with about 450 students who have all been accepted for their intelligence and personal maturity.

“For the first time, they are surrounded by students like themselves who are not only smart but they want to talk about important things. They want to help make a difference,” Coleman said. “They aren’t interested in ‘American Idol’; they’re interested in talking about important things.”

The students live in dorms with adult resident assistants, and the classes generally have up to 12 students each. Coleman also said that because the students are all underage, the party scene found at most other colleges doesn’t exist.

And although his parents may have some lingering worries, Sadowsky said he’s only concerned about learning how to cook for himself and do his own laundry.

“I visited over spring break, that was the first I’ve been to Massachusetts,” he said. “It was really nice. It’s going to be a new thing.” 